Dior Sugar Shade (257) High Fidelity Eyeshadow Palette Review & Swatches
Sugar Shade (257)
Dior Sugar Shade (257) High Fidelity Colours & Effects Eyeshadow Palette ($63.00 for 0.24 oz.) is a new, limited edition palette for spring, which features a pop of blue, two pinks, golden beige, and a plummy brown. All five shades had some shimmer in them, though some were more shimmery than others. The blue ends up working primarily as a “pop” of color, most easily incorporated as an inner corner or lower lash line shade as it didn’t flow as well with the other shades. The two pinks had a tendency to lose some of their nuance when applied together. I find Dior tends to put together interesting color schemes, but I didn’t feel like this coordinated as well as others have in the past.
Ingredients
Sugar Shade (257)
LELimited Edition. $63.00.
Sugar Shade #1
Sugar Shade #1 is a light, sky blue with subtle, cool undertones and a pearly sheen. It had a soft, lightly dusty consistency–a little drier to the touch–that yielded semi-opaque pigmentation. The eyeshadow applied better over an eyeshadow primer or with a dampened brush, which helped to minimize the dustiness. It lasted for seven hours on me before fading noticeably.
Top Dupes
- Giorgio Armani #12 (DC, $33.00) is more shimmery, lighter, cooler (90% similar).
- Buxom Husky (P, $18.00) is more shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
- Make Up For Ever D206 Celestial Blue (DC, $21.00) is more shimmery, darker, warmer (90% similar).
- Make Up For Ever I210 Light Turquoise (DC, $17.00) is more shimmery, darker, cooler (90% similar).
- Makeup Geek Atlantis (P, $12.00) is more shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
- Giorgio Armani #10 (DC, $33.00) is more shimmery, lighter (90% similar).
- Giorgio Armani Jade Reflection (35) (DC, $39.00) is more shimmery (90% similar).
- Dior Parisian Sky #4 (LE, ) is more shimmery, lighter (90% similar).
- Smashbox Sky (P, ) is more shimmery, cooler (85% similar).
- Make Up For Ever ME202 Iceberg Blue (DC, $17.00) is more shimmery, lighter, cooler (85% similar).
Sugar Shade #1
LELimited Edition.
Sugar Shade #2
Sugar Shade #2 is a pale beige with subtle, warm yellow undertones and a metallic sheen. It had nearly opaque color payoff that adhered well to bare skin with a smooth, even application that blended out easily along the edges. The texture was firmer, denser, but not stiff (more like that baked, gel-powder hybrid texture) and “melted” a bit when applied to skin. It wore well for eight hours on me before fading a bit.
Top Dupes
- Sydney Grace Milk and Cookies (P, $5.25) is less shimmery (95% similar).
- NARS Mahe #3 (PiP, $19.00) is more shimmery (90% similar).
- Dior Jardin #2 (PiP, ) is more shimmery (90% similar).
- Tarina Tarantino Lovely #2 (DC, ) is more shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
- Too Faced Whipped Cream (LE, $16.00) is more shimmery (90% similar).
- Pretty Vulgar Pillow Fight (PiP, ) is more muted, less pigmented (90% similar).
- LORAC Vanilla (LE, $19.00) is more shimmery (90% similar).
- Guerlain Les Nuees #4 (LE, ) is more shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
- Chanel Tisse Paris #2 (PiP, ) is more shimmery (90% similar).
- ColourPop Onai (LE, $6.00) is more muted (90% similar).
Sugar Shade #2
LELimited Edition.
Sugar Shade #3
Sugar Shade #3 is a light-medium pink with subtle, warm undertones and a pearly sheen. It had good pigmentation with a soft, smooth consistency that was firmer but not stiff or difficult to blend out. The eyeshadow stayed on well for seven and a half hours until it started to fade.
Top Dupes
- Sephora Starlets (LE, ) is more shimmery, warmer (90% similar).
- Too Faced Cotton Candy (PiP, $16.00) is more shimmery (90% similar).
- L'Oreal Always Pearly Pink (756) (P, $7.99) is more shimmery, lighter (90% similar).
- MAC Keep on Twinkling (LE, $17.00) is more shimmery, warmer (90% similar).
- KVD Beauty Love (LE, ) is more shimmery, darker, warmer (90% similar).
- Makeup Geek Nostalgic (P, $9.99) is more shimmery, darker, cooler (90% similar).
- Too Faced Sweetie Pie (PiP, ) is more shimmery, warmer (90% similar).
- MAC Love Power (LE, $22.00) is more shimmery, darker, warmer (90% similar).
- ColourPop Just Fur Fun (LE, $6.00) is more shimmery, warmer (90% similar).
- Chanel Impulsion (93) (LE, $32.00) is more shimmery, warmer (90% similar).
Sugar Shade #3
LELimited Edition.
Sugar Shade #4
Sugar Shade #4 is a medium pink with warm undertones and a golden shimmer. It had medium pigmentation, which was buildable to semi-opaque coverage with two layers or nearly opaque coverage if applied with a dampened brush. The texture was soft, slightly drier/dusty compared to other shades, though it had a similar firmness (but not in the sense that it was difficult to apply or blend out). There was visible fading after seven and a half hours of wear.
Top Dupes
- Anastasia Ballet (P, $12.00) is more shimmery, darker, warmer (95% similar).
- MAC In Living Pink (P, $17.00) is more shimmery, darker, warmer (95% similar).
- Dior Capital of Light #3 (LE, ) is darker, cooler (95% similar).
- YSL Paris #4 (LE, ) is more shimmery, darker (95% similar).
- Givenchy Inattendue #3 (PiP, ) is more shimmery, darker, cooler (90% similar).
- Too Faced Just Peachy (PiP, $16.00) is less shimmery, darker, cooler (90% similar).
- Too Faced Glistening Peach (PiP, $16.00) is more shimmery, darker (90% similar).
- Sleek MakeUP Sunset #12 (PiP, $9.99) is more shimmery, darker (90% similar).
- Wet 'n' Wild Sweet as Candy #4 (PiP, ) is warmer (90% similar).
- Too Faced Slay Bells (LE, $16.00) is more shimmery, darker (90% similar).
Sugar Shade #4
LELimited Edition.
Sugar Shade #5
Sugar Shade #5 is a medium-dark brown with soft, gold and plum pearl. It had opaque color payoff applied in a single layer, which went on evenly and smoothly on my lid. The consistency was denser, firm but not thick or too stiff in the pan that it became difficult to work with. The eyeshadow blended out easily along the edges and stayed on well for eight hours on my eye.
Top Dupes
- NABLA Cosmetics Ludwig (P, $8.00) is warmer (95% similar).
- Make Up For Ever S606 Pinky Earth (P, $17.00) is warmer (95% similar).
- Coloured Raine Intergalactic (DC, $6.99) is more shimmery, lighter, cooler (95% similar).
- Dior Volcanic #1 (LE, ) is less shimmery (95% similar).
- Chanel City Lights #1 (LE, ) is cooler (90% similar).
- Laura Mercier Burnished Bronze (LE, $23.00) is more shimmery, lighter, cooler (90% similar).
- Urban Decay Glare (LE, $19.00) is more shimmery (90% similar).
- Chanel Jardins Eclatants #3 (LE, ) is more shimmery, darker (90% similar).
- Dior Coral Canvas #3 (LE, ) is less shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
- Anastasia NYC (LE, $12.00) is less shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
Wow – this is a weird one – in a quint with 2 pinks, a blue and a brown. Hmmm and not even that good either.
A superb, precise review of this somewhat-funky palette! I bought it last week; like you, I am intrigued by Dior’s compilation of hues (and almost always in love with the company’s textures and coverage). I was charmed by this, to be sure, but I was not “wowed!”
As I have stated several times on the blog, I get along with Dior shadows pretty well and I don’t mind if they are not super pigmented. I usually pick up a quint from each release and I think this will be a release that I skip. I am going strong on my no/low buy and don’t feel like there is anything here to cause me to break it. I also don’t love that shade of blue, regardless of whether it worked with the other shades in the quint. Just not a fan of that shade so easy skip for me.
This color scheme is so pretty. If only the the performance had been there, this would have been a lovely quint for spring.
I think I’d like these colours in some pillows to make my family room look more “spring-like” or in bedding or in a bouquet of flowers but these really are not shades I’d wear on my eyes with the possible exception of #2. Even if this were a $10 palette from WnW or similar, I’d pass on it.
This is a beautiful little set. I like the colors. It’s too bad they didn’t all perform as well together as they could have.
So I see 3 fairly nice looking shades here. #2, 4,and 5. But, that’s not enough for me to even consider getting this.
Back at the very start of the 2000’s, I actually had a Revlon quad with a similar color combo, lol! Pretty dated looking shades, I suppose.
This is so pretty!
The blue does seem odd, as you point out, but maybe I’m more drawn to the Easter/spring-like hues, than to the actual usefulness of the palette as a whole.
This palette reminds me of the frosty pastel eyeshadows of the early 1970s, when I was just starting to show interest in makeup, though frosty pastels never held any interest for me.
Definitely an interesting color combo. I like it
That quad immediately puts me in mind of a patisserie — sugar indeed!
Not quad … quint!!! I swear I’m paying attention! :-/